1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to hard disk drives and, in particular, to an improved system, method, and apparatus for a microactuator used in the precise positioning of the recording head element in a hard disk drive.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a data access and storage system consists of one or more storage devices that store data on magnetic or optical storage media. For example, a magnetic storage device is known as a direct access storage device (DASD) or a hard disk drive (HDD) and includes one or more disks and a disk controller to manage local operations concerning the disks. The hard disks themselves are usually made of aluminum alloy or a mixture of glass and ceramic, and are covered with a magnetic coating. Typically, one to six disks are stacked vertically on a common spindle that is turned by a disk drive motor at several thousand revolutions per minute (rpm). Hard disk drives have several different typical standard sizes or formats, including server, desktop, mobile and microdrive.
A typical HDD also utilizes an actuator assembly. The actuator moves magnetic read/write beads to the desired location on the rotating disk so as to write information to or read data from that location having an air bearing surface (ABS) that enables the slider to fly at a constant height close to the disk during operation of the disk drive, by a cushion of air generated by the rotating disk. Within most HDDs, the magnetic read/write head transducer is mounted on a slider. A slider generally serves to mechanically support the head and any electrical connections between the head and the rest of the disk drive system. The slider is aerodynamically shaped to glide over the boundary layer of air dragged by the disk to maintain a uniform distance from the surface of the rotating disk, thereby preventing the head from undesirably contacting the disk. Each slider is attached to the free end of a suspension that in turn is cantilevered from the rigid arm of an actuator. Several semi-rigid arms may be combined to form a single movable unit having either a linear bearing or a rotary pivotal bearing system.
The head and arm assembly is linearly or pivotally moved utilizing a magnet/coil structure that is often called a voice coil motor (VCM). The stator of a VCM is mounted to a base plate or casting on which the spindle is also mounted. The base casting with its spindle, actuator VCM, and internal filtration system is then enclosed with a cover and seal assembly to ensure that no contaminants can enter and adversely affect the reliability of the slider flying over the disk. When current is fed to the motor, the VCM develops force or torque that is substantially proportional to the applied current. The arm acceleration is therefore substantially proportional to the magnitude of the current. As the read/write head approaches a desired track, a reverse polarity signal is applied to the actuator, causing the signal to act as a brake, and ideally causing the read/write head to stop and settle directly over the desired track.
The motor used to rotate the disk is typically a brushless DC motor. The disk is mounted and clamped to a hub of the motor. The hub provides a disk mounting surface and a means to attach an additional part or parts to clamp the disk to the hub. In most typical motor configurations of HDDs, the rotating part of the motor or rotor is attached to or is an integral part of the hub. The rotor includes a ring-shaped magnet with alternating north/south poles arranged radially and a ferrous metal backing. The magnet interacts with the motor's stator by means of magnetic forces. Magnetic fields and resulting magnetic forces are induced by way of the electric current in the coiled wire of the motor stator. The ferrous metal backing of the rotor acts as a magnetic return path. For smooth and proper operation of the motor, the rotor magnet magnetic pole pattern should not be substantially altered after it is magnetically charged during the motor's manufacturing process.
The suspension of a conventional disk drive typically includes a relatively stiff load beam with a mount plate at the base end, which subsequently attaches to the actuator arm, and whose free end mounts a flexure that carries the slider and its read/write head transducer. Disposed between the mount plate and the functional end of the load beam is a ‘hinge’ that is compliant in the vertical bending direction (normal to the disk surface). The hinge enables the load beam to suspend and load the slider and the read/write head toward the spinning disk surface. It is then the job of the flexure to provide gimbaled support for the slider so that the read/write head can pitch and roll in order to adjust its orientation for unavoidable disk surface axial run-out or flatness variations.
The flexure in an integrated lead suspension is generally made out of a laminated multilayer material. Typically, it consists of a support layer (e.g., steel), a dielectric insulating layer (e.g., polyimide), a conductor layer (e.g., copper), and a cover layer (e.g., polyimide) that insulates the conductor layer. The electrical lead lines are etched into the conductor layer, while the polyimide layer serves as the insulator from the underlying steel support layer. The steel support layer is also patterned to provide strength and gimbaling characteristics to the flexure. The conducting leads, called traces, which electrically connect the head transducer to the read/write electronics, are often routed on both sides of the suspension, especially in the gimbal region. Normally the traces consist of copper conductor with polyimide dielectric insulating and cover layers but no support stainless steel layer and only provide the electrical function. The primary mechanical support function is provided by the flexure legs (e.g., steel) which normally run adjacent to the traces.
Some hard disk drives employ micro- or milli-actuator designs to provide second stage actuation of the recording head to enable more accurate positioning of the head relative to the recording track. Milli-actuators are broadly classified as actuators that move the entire front end of the suspension: spring, load beam, flexure and slider. Micro-actuators are broadly classified as actuators that move only the slider, moving it relative to the load beam, or moving the read-write element only, moving it relative to the slider body.
Previously, the objective for most designs was to provide a lateral motion of the slider recording element on the order of about 1 to 2 microns. The required lateral motion of the slider is defined by the track density of the drive and the size of the off-track motions of the slider required to follow the track due to turbulence, external vibration, etc.
Milli-actuators have issues with dynamic performance. For example, when the entire load beam is actuated, milli-actuators exert significant reaction forces into the actuator arms, exciting relatively low frequency actuator resonances. They also have characteristically lower frequency resonances than microactuators. These two factors limit their performance.
There are many types of micro-actuator designs. One type of microactuator (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,159,300 to Yao) uses a ceramic U-shaped frame with thin-film piezo layers on the outer surfaces of the “U” to surround the slider, in the same plane as the slider, and attaches to the slider at the front of the U-shaped arms. Actuating the piezos on the two side arms moves the slider laterally. Although this design is workable, issues such as cost, reliability and fragility during shock have limited its usefulness.
Another type of microactuator (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7.046,485 to Kuwajima) uses two thin-film piezos on either side of a thin adhesive layer. Two of these piezos are located below and in the same plane as the load beam. The piezos then alternately expand and contract to provide a rotary motion about a “hinge”, allowing rotary motion of the slider.
In addition, various types of micro-electromechanical systems (“MEMS”) actuators have been designed. Some of these earlier designs used an electrostatic rotary design, but high cost and fragility made them unworkable. Thus, an improved system, method, and apparatus for a microactuator used in the precise positioning of the recording head element in a hard disk drive would be desirable.